Improvement in railway switches



CHARLES LE E COOKE.

Improvement in Railway Switches.

N 01 121,158. Patented Nov- 21,1871.

Weilnamcsz Jul 612107 AM. PNOTD-UTHGSPAFIf/L' C0. 11! X] FIDO/711515P1700583 CHARLES LEE OOOKE, OF

OFFICE.

sHoRTs'vILLE, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAlLWAV SWITCHES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 121,158, dated November21, 1871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES LEE GooKE, of the town of Shortsville andState of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in RailwaySwitches; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the construction and operation of the same,reference being had to the annexed drawing-making part and parcel ofthis specification.

The nature and object of this invention is to construct a switch forrailways that will secure greater certainty in the prevention ofaccidents by reason of the cars or locomotive being thrown from thetrack, so that, in whatever position the switch-rails may be placed, thecars may be conducted upon a line of siding or main rails.

Some switches hitherto have been constructed for the above-allegedpurpose by the use of split rails toreceive the flanges of thecar-wheels and by that means cause the same to be guided upon the mainor other rails; but such split rails are liable to be broken,disarranged, and the spaces between them filled with sand, gravel, orother material that would render them inoperative, which results areentirely avoided by my construction of switches for railways; the meansused by me being the introduction of a safety-rail, considerably widerthan the carwheels including their flanges, inclined at one end, thesame being constructed of wood,and their upper surface plated with heavyboiler-iron, and securely spiked to the rail-ties, and abutting closelyupon the rails on their outer side by the main track; also in the formand construction of the guard-rails used in this connection.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to make and use this myinvention I will proceed to describe the same.

Figure 1 in the drawing represents a top view of a railway-track inwhich my improvements are placed. Fig. 2 represents a side view of thesafety-rail in relation to the railroad-rail and ties.

A Arepresent the main rails; c c c c (l O G G the switch-rails, pivotedas usual at the ends opposite to the lever E and connecting rail-rod D.The latter is jointed at the center, as shown in the drawing at i, theflat portions of the rod or bar D being formed so as to fit closely andsurround the flanges of the rails somewhat in the form of a door-tail. aand b are guard-rails made in the form shown. B is the safety-rail,tapered at the end toward the movable switch, made of hard wood, and itswhole upper surface covered with heavy boiler-iron. Th e surface of thisguardrail is made much wider than the wheels of the cars, so as to admitof the flange of the wheel passing up or upon it, the opposite wheelsrunning upon their tread upon the rail. The carwheel upon thesafety-rail. running upon its flange is necessarily of larger diameterthan the opposite wheel running on its tread, and is, consequently,naturally directed inward and toward the rail that the cars shouldproperly run upon; the construction of the guard-rails as shown tends toforce or draw the car into its proper position when ofi' of rail uponwhich it is desired to run.

The appliances herein described are easily supplemented when broken orout of order, and replaced with great ease and facility by ordinarytrack-layers without being obliged to go to a shop .to have themrepaired.

By this arrangement a train may move rapidly over the switch andsafety-rail, which it could not do if a splitrail was substituted forthe safetyrail described by me.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-- The combination and arrangement of the wheelflange supporter B,formed of wood and plateiron, fitted to the section rail 0 and the mainrail A, and guardrails a a b I), also made of sections of rails, all inthe manner and for the purpose herein described.

CHARLES LEE GOOKE.

Witnesses:

WM. H. MASON, JOHN N. BROWNING.

